


Fading

by ariminiria



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Howard Stark is a jerk, Sorry Not Sorry, Soulmate AU, poor guy, probably no sequel, self loathing tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 07:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11009250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariminiria/pseuds/ariminiria
Summary: Soulmate AU where your heartbeat is in sync with your soulmate. They both speed up together, and slow down together. They share every big emotion, and sense of calm.And both hearts stop together as well.





	Fading

**Author's Note:**

> Soulmate AU where your heartbeat is in sync with your soulmate. They both speed up together, and slow down together. They share every big emotion, and sense of calm.
> 
> And both hearts stop together as well.

 

The pain came out of nowhere. It felt like a set of claws had latched onto her heart. (Y/N) wasn't worried, however. At least, not for herself. Her mind immediately went to her poor soulmate, whose heart was causing hers to miss every other beat.

_ Who are you?  _ she wondered.  _ Please be okay, wherever you are… _

 

***Tony's POV***

The shrapnel had caused Tony some major discomfort. And that was putting it lightly.

He pitied his other half. What would she think was happening to him? She couldn't possibly have known that her soulmate was currently trapped in a terrorist cave being kept alive by a car battery.

_ Wherever you are, I hope you're safer than i am. _

 

Obadiah. Tony should have seen it coming. Now, he could feel his heartbeat fading as the shrapnel sliced through him.

He couldn't protect anyone from his dad's ex-partner. Not his company, not this city, not Pepper or himself… Not even his soulmate.

_ I'm sorry… I failed you. _

Hadn't he always known it though?  Deep down inside, he knew that his father was right. He was a failure, a waste of talent. No matter what he did, he could never be good enough. Not then, not now. Not ever, for that matter.

As the feeling returned to his body, he paused in his self-loathing for a moment to think about her. About how scared she must be right now, unsure of what was happening as they died together.

And in that moment, he decided that he had to live. If not for his own wretched existence, then for the sake of her life. He wasn't going to let her die, or anyone, for that matter.

Tony suddenly remembered that he still had that prototype down in the lab… There was no way he'd make it in time. It was an impossibly slim chance, but it was a chance nevertheless.

 

***(Y/N)’s POV***

Something was wrong. Her soulmate’s heart was fluctuating. And there had been an interesting set of black lines originating from her heart. They had started crawling up her neck, like a freaky jigsaw puzzle. It was really taking it’s toll on her, and her coworkers noticed.

(Y/N) didn’t work anywhere special, just a diner in downtown New York. And as much as she had tried to hide it, her boss, Janice, a kind elderly lady, had noticed that she was growing weaker and tiring out more easily. The woman encouraged (Y/N) to take some time off, saying that she knew how hard it could be to have a soulmate with “health problems”.

So here she was now, getting ready to watch Justin Hammer present something at the Stark Expo. Earlier, she had unexpectedly gained some relief from the dark lines, but they were still going strong.

Suddenly, however, she felt a strange sensation in her heart, almost as if the muscle was being cooled in a refreshing bath. The menacing streaks slowly faded as relief washed over her.

_ I guess your doctor must be a genius… _

But, at least she knew he was safe. And that was all that mattered.

 

_ ~Time Skip~ _

 

Whoever her soulmate was, she hoped he wasn’t in New York right now. She couldn’t tell if the racing heartbeat was her own or his, but (Y/N) brought her focus back to the issue at hand as she ran for her life--and her soulmate’s life, too.

A strange group of heroes had shown up and were now fighting these alien things. Even that billionaire, Tony Stark, had shown up with his “Iron Man” suit.

Just then, one of those creatures landed right in front of her, aiming its weapon and… It was the man in red, white, and blue; Captain America was there. He jumped in front of her, deflecting the blast with his shield before taking the creature out.

“Are you alright, ma'am?” he asked.

(Y/N)’s heart was pounding harder than it ever had before, and that was saying something, considering how often her soulmate’s heart rate spiked.

“Ma’am?” he questioned again, breaking her out of her trance.

“I’m fine…” she gasped. “Thank you.”

The man nodded before running off to continue defending the city.

 

***Tony’s POV***

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but his soulmate’s heart had suddenly started racing. So, she was either watching a really scary movie, or… She was here. Which meant that she was in danger. And, just as always, the threat to her safety encouraged him to keep fighting. She needed him, and he was going to make sure that she was okay.

 

***(Y/N)’s POV***

 

(Y/N) was with some other refugees, hiding and watching these… Avengers, when suddenly, Iron Man flew up through the wormhole. There was a pause, then, all of the creatures just sort of shut down. The people cheered. But not (Y/N). Something was wrong.

Her heart slowed and stopped; she collapsed to the pavement. A couple other people were shouting for a medic.

She never could remember what happened next. All (Y/N) saw was the darkness, then… She jolted awake in the back of an ambulance.

“What's going on?” she gasped.

A paramedic to her left placed a hand in her shoulder.

“Ma’am, please try to calm down. It seems like your soulmate might have had some heart issues, so we're taking you to a hospital to clear some things up.”

She frowned, about to protest, but the woman cut her off.

“Please, it's for your own good. And it's probably the safest place to be right now anyway.”

Sighing, (Y/N) relented to their care. She just hoped that despite whatever had happened to him, her soulmate was okay.

 

***Tony’s POV***

He hated the nightmares. The sweat-soaked, heart-pounding terror which he inflicted on his soulmate drove the guilt to his core.

And then, of course, it had to get worse when JARVIS told him that he was having panic attacks. 

_ This is all my fault… I'm not strong enough. You don't deserve someone as weak as me for a soulmate. You're an angel. I haven’t even met you, but I know you’re perfect. Which is why you’re way out of my league. I’m sorry that Fate handed you the short end of the stick. _

And with these thoughts brewing in the pit of his desolation, Tony tried to fall back into the brief respite of sleep’s grasp.

 

***(Y/N)’s POV***

(Y/N) woke in a cold sweat. Her heart felt as though it were about to beat out of her chest. Her pulse sped up, faster and faster, until she found it hard to breathe.

_ He’s having a panic attack... _ she realized.

Her mother used to get them when she was younger, so (Y/N) was no stranger to the symptoms.

(Y/N) breathed deeply, trying to regulate her own heartbeat in an attempt to help her soulmate calm down. Slowly, their shared pulse returned to normal.

 

_ ~Time Skip~ _

 

Her soulmate’s anxiety attacks happened a few more times over the next couple days. (Y/N) figured that something big must be happening in his life right now. Maybe something had brought up whatever it was that happened back in New York.

Whatever the case, she was there for him every time, faithfully helping him calm down each time his heart rate ran uncontrollably. (Y/N) might not know who he was, but she loved him already. Her heart quite literally belonged to him. She didn’t care that she’d often wake in the middle of the night with a racing pulse. (Y/N) was just glad that she was able to help him, to take care of him before she had even met him.

_ I’ll always be there for you… _

 

***Tony’s POV***

The strange vision really had shaken him to the core. He had seen all of his friends lying dead, when he could have done more. But the worst part was hearing his own heartbeat fade, and knowing that it was his fault that  _ she _ was dying. And all because he had failed at protecting her.

Shaking his head, Tony approached Bruce. It was time to have a serious talk about Ultron.

 

_ ~Time Skip~ _

 

“Do you think this is funny?” Thor demanded.

“I think it’s hilarious that you guys don’t get why we need this,” Tony shot back.

All he could think about was her. He had created Ultron to protect her. If they had a global peacekeeping unit, then he wouldn’t have to go out in the field anymore. He would no longer be a target and it would be safe to try to find her.

Now, however, they were headed to Sokovia with two of their former enemies, hoping to defeat what had been his plan for peace.

 

***(Y/N)’s POV***

Her street was surrounded by gunfire, and the symbol of the Red Skull was proudly displayed. (Y/N) thought that after the incident in Washington, and with what happened in Sokovia, HYDRA would have been no more. It appeared she was wrong.

As she ran from the terrorist agents, (Y/N) noticed a child hiding behind a trashcan, covering his ears from the noise. Unfortunately, one of the HYDRA members had noticed the boy too.

Just before the man reached him, (Y/N) threw herself in front of the child. The man glared at her, leveling his gun at her chest.

“Move,” he demanded.

(Y/N) couldn’t find her voice, so she defiantly shook her head instead.

She didn’t get a second warning.

Pain exploded in her sternum and a red stain blossomed across her chest.

 

***Tony’s POV***

The Avengers had received an alert of a HYDRA unit attacking civilians in downtown New York. They suited up and headed to the scene.

Just as they touched down, right before he put on the suit, Tony’s heart sped up, faster than he’d ever felt from her before.

“Tony?” Steve called, noticing his hesitation.

“She’s here,” was all he said.

Steve knew immediately what he meant.

“We’ll find her, Tony. Don’t worry.”

They hurried off of the jet, leaving the Iron Man armour behind in their hurry.

Over by an alley, Tony saw a woman shielding a kid from a HYDRA agent. The man fired his gun, and Tony felt her pain as the bullet pierced his soulmate’s heart. Gasping for breath, he took hold of Steve’s arm as he slumped to the ground.

“Tony!” Steve yelled, realizing what was happening.

“Steve, save her! Don’t worry about me, save her. She’s dying!” Tony choked out.

His pulse grew slower and slower as he realized that he didn’t even know her name…

And then everything went black.


End file.
